Division II basketball coach double dribbles programs

It is not uncommon to see coaches pulling double duty by overseeing a second sport or fulfilling administrative responsibilities in the athletics department.

But, in an unusual arrangement, Marty Fletcher not only serves as the senior assistant athletics director at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, he also leads the men's and women's basketball programs at the Division II school.

Fletcher, whose coaching resume includes head-coaching stops at Virginia Military Institute, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the University of Denver, joined Colorado-Colorado Springs last year. He signed on as an assistant athletics director and head women's basketball coach.

The men's program, however, was in flux.

"The men's coach decided to leave after last year," Fletcher said. "The athletics director asked me on several occasions if I would take over the men's program. But I wanted to stay with the women's program."

So, instead of exchanging programs, Fletcher added one.

Although managing both programs may sound like a logistical nightmare, Fletcher said things are going smoothly and that it has been a team effort by the student-athletes, assistant coaches and the administration.

"The practice plans are the same. I have terrific assistant coaches on the women's and the men's sides," he said. "Plus, we're in such a large conference that we play all doubleheaders, so I'm at the same place at the same time for both games."

Georgia State coach plays vital video role

The NCAA's fight against spit tobacco has taken a number of forms -- from posters to legislation prohibiting tobacco use by team members, coaches, staff and officials anywhere in a stadium. But there's nothing like having a living example to emphasize the seriousness of the issue.

Enter Mike Hurst, head baseball coach at Georgia State University, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2001. Hurst recently shared his story in a 15-minute video produced by the Medical Association of Georgia Alliance. The NCAA has included the segment in the 2004 NCAA Baseball Rules Clinic video, which all Division I head coaches are required to view.

"Coach Hurst's story is told in such a way that student-athletes, coaches and umpires can see themselves in his position," said the NCAA's Ty Halpin, who serves as the staff liaison to the Baseball Rules Committee. "It is a very powerful message and one that helps underscore the NCAA's policy on tobacco use."

Hurst is beginning his 12th season as Georgia State's head baseball coach. He returned to the post full-time last season after enduring surgery to remove two cancerous tumors and to shorten his tongue. Hurst also survived six weeks of radiation, two follow-up operations over the past two years due to infection and one surgery on his vocal cords to improve his speech.

Hurst's story also has been featured in the Collegiate Baseball Magazine.

Deadline approaches for NACWAA institute

The National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators has announced the dates of the 10th annual NACWAA/HERS Institute for Administrative Advancement.

The institute will be June 3-8 at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and June 19-24 at the University of Denver. The week-long institute provides intensive training in all areas of athletics administration, including policy implementation, professional development, leadership skills and financial planning.

In addition, for the second consecutive year, the Women Coaches Academy will be conducted in conjunction with the institute. Designed for women coaches with all levels of experience, the main objective of the academy is to provide participants with relevant, usable skills and to assist and encourage retention of women coaches.

The dates of the academy are June 3-7 at North Carolina-Wilmington and June 19-23 at Denver.

The application deadline for the institute is March 8. The academy also is currently accepting applications. For more information or to obtain an application for the NACWAA/HERS Institute or the Women Coaches Academy, go to www.nacwaa.org.

-- Compiled by Leilana McKindra

Number crunching

Looking back

5 years ago

Here's what was happening within the Association in February 1999:

The United States Supreme Court rules that the NCAA is not considered a recipient of federal funds just because it receives dues from member schools that do receive federal money. The plaintiff in the case, volleyball player Renee M. Smith, said that the NCAA violated Title IX in its continuing eligibility process and that the Association was subject to Title IX because it receives federal funds. The Supreme Court remands to lower court the question of whether the NCAA should be considered a recipient of federal money because of funding received by the separately incorporated National Youth Sports Program.

The Men's and Women's Soccer Rules Committee adopts a revised overtime policy for postseason play. The committee approves a policy that all overtime periods in both regular-season and postseason play be sudden death. Previously, overtimes during the regular season were sudden death, but in postseason play, two 15-minute periods of regular soccer were played before sudden death. The change is in response to a request from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America that asked for consistent overtime policies in both the regular season and postseason.

An increase in football concussions and a rise in women's soccer injuries are reported from the NCAA fall 1998 Injury Surveillance System (ISS). Data in the report indicate that participants are almost twice as likely to receive a concussion in a football game as they were 10 years ago.

Former Syracuse University quarterback Don McPherson is a featured speaker at the CHAMPS/ Life Skills Continuing Education Conference in San Diego. McPherson addresses violence prevention and tells the life skills coordinators that student-athletes could help lead the way in preventing violence on campus.